Franz Kafka (1883-1924)
The great Java-Scala creation based on commit log, The Apache Software Foundation's Apache Kafka, originated on LinkedIn, co-created by the terrific trio of Jay Kreps, Neha Narkhede and Jun Rao, and named after Franz Kafka by Kreps, an ardent admirer of the legendary author.
It is but logical that this tribute to the maverick author should find its home in the cosy confines of a LinkedIn newsletter.
Born in a bourgeoise, German-speaking Jewish family of Prague, then an Austro-Hungarian territory, Franz Kafka switched from chemistry to law midway. Post his graduation, he briefly worked for an insurance firm with a demanding work culture before joining the Worker's Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia, a stint that allowed him time for literary and Yiddish theatre explorations, as also for overseeing the operations of an asbestos factory founded by his brother in law.
A long time sufferer of stress-induced psychological bodily ailments, he took refuge in naturopathic therapies but when he contracted tuberculosis, matters took a fatal turn which led to his demise in a sanatorium near Vienna.
Kafka’s literature emblematically depicts an inward search for deeper meaning and redemptive purpose. It is easy to label his work as dark and gory, but beneath the helplessness of the dead-end situations his characters find themselves in, there’re universal cues and clues – all extrapolative, none explicit – of how sincere, upright and sensitive individuals could come to terms with the inevitable loneliness, isolation and identity crisis emanating from the hypocrisy or iniquitousness of their times, if not always rise above them.
This staple ingredient of Kafkaesque work appeals to readers of all ages and eras, even the Tik-Tok and IG generation {to some out of a sense of empty wonderment, which is still a better emotion than complete bafflement or outright disregard}.
No wonder, even the Gen Z loves saying, “Oh! That’s so Kafkaesque”, whether or not they know what they mean by it.
We must thank Kafka’s Israeli friend and biographer Max Brod, himself a prolific writer, for making Kafka a global phenomenon, given that he defied his friend’s request to burn his unpublished work upon his death.
Metamorphosis: a bizarre ‘traveling salesman’ problem {beyond the scope of computer science and operations research}
The Metamorphosis, one of Kafka’s surreally poignant works, is the fantastic story of traveling salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect
It is essentially a humour-laced, absurdist take on life and death and best savoured in wholesome sips. With each read, we learn more about the bizarre trials and tribulations of the protagonist Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman perpetually buried under the burden of meeting family’s pressing needs and obligations. To begin with, the reader somehow accepts the phantastic premise of the story (one gloomy morning, Gregor transforms into a repulsive insect) but wilfully treads the thorny path headed towards larger, uncomfortable truths, like the inevitably circumstantial nature of familial and societal relationships: how one ghastly metamorphosis can trigger equally gruesome mutations. While Gregor, in his invertebrate form, suffers a terrifying disconnect between mind and body, his family members graduate from feeble compassion born out of shock to a fierce hatred rooted in dysfunctional developments and horrendous social embarrassment.
There’s a tiny paragraph towards the fag end that would bring any sensitive reader to tears, although it unfolds the steely character of the protagonist’s resolve in matter-of-fact fashion, right after the door to his room is ‘hastily pushed shut, bolted and locked’ by the family, following an altercation with tenants following Gregor’s ‘guest appearance’ in the living room. No flourish of adjectives, no overt glorification, simply a running commentary about Gregor’s precipitous discovery of a latent truth: that he is not surprised at not being able to move at all, in fact, he finds his stationary position relatively comfortable, one which strengthens his conviction to 'disappear'.
In his dark confines, his nagging pain gradually passing away, he slips into an empty and peaceful meditation all night long, till the wee hours of the morning. When the ‘first broadening of light in the world outside the window enters his consciousness’, ‘his head sinks to the floor of its own accord’ and the ‘last flicker of his breath leaves his nostrils.’
Thus ends his painful, protracted and futile struggle to fill the enormous vacuum caused by his vermin form. This is as dignified a death as death can ever hope to be, but alas! Gregor’s martyrdom must go unsung; worse, even cheered as good riddance. Kafka makes the settlement utterly unsettling, intentionally of course. One instinctively sides with the tragic hero, but there is nothing really that one can hold against the family. An earnest reader is simply left with a bagful of questions that demand introspection ahead of answers.
Beyond doubt, Kafka and Samsa are unforgettable and irreplaceable!